Goa Cong files disqualification petition against 10 ex-members

The Congress in Goa filed a petition before the state Assembly Speaker on Thursday, seeking disqualification of its 10 former MLAs, who joined the ruling BJP last month.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar submitted the petition before Speaker Rajesh Patnekar, terming the legislators' act of joining the saffron party as illegal.

In the petition, Chodankar urged the speaker to disqualify all the 10 MLAs as members of the state Assembly.

The petition sought disqualification of Deputy Speaker and Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes, Deputy Chief Minister and Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavlekar, Water Resources Department Minister and Velim MLA Filipe Neri Rodrigues, Revenue Minister and Taleigao MLA Jennifer Monserratte, Panjim MLA Atanasio Monserratte, Cuncolim MLA Clafasio Dias, Nuvem MLA Wilfred D'Sa and Thivim MLA Nilkant Halarnkar.

The petitioner pleaded that pending hearing and final disposal of the matter, the respondents be restrained from functioning as members of the House and holding any constitutional post or an office of profit.

The 10 MLAs had voluntarily given up the membership of their original political party (Indian National Congress), on whose behalf they had contested and stood elected in the Goa Legislative Assembly from their respective constituencies, Chodankar said.

He said the respondents have incurred disqualification under Article 191(2) of the Constitution (read with para 2 of the Tenth Schedule) and are liable to be disqualified as members of the legislative assembly.

The Congress leader claimed that there was no valid merger in terms of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

"In the present case, no merger of the original political party- INC- took place. The said party is still existing and is duly recognised and consequently there cannot be claim of valid merger as contemplated under the Tenth Schedule by respondents," the petition said.

The 10 MLAs, led by the then Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, had joined the BJP on July 10. Following that, the Congress's strength in the 40-member House came down to five from 15, while the number of BJP MLAs grew from 17 to 27.